Need help from leader peers

[P201Cubmaster]

I am the CM for a cub scout pack in new york and I have a problem that I need some input on.

 

I have a leader in my pack, a DL to be specific, that it has been brought to my attention that he has had prior convictions for child abuse involving his children. Lately, he has had outbursts involving other leaders and some of them he has had in front of the scouts. We as a group of leaders have had to talk with him on many different instances about this.

 

This last committee meeting, after discussing with the leaders, I dismissed him from leadership responsiblities. He became upset, and then went to the CC of our BS Troop and threatened to pull his son from the troop, there by prompted the Troop CC to tell me that I do not have the authority to dismiss one of my leaders and he would not be losing a member of the troop because I couldn't handle a little rift in my pack.

 

ANY help or suggestions on this situation would be greatly helpful. It is under my impression that under BSA Bylaws and our new pack Bylaw, that the discipline regarding my den leaders is at my discretion.

 

Thank you all for your listening ear,

 

Pack 201 Cubmaster

[Bob White]

If you know that this person has a prior conviction on child abuse go directly to your council's scout executive with the information. Do not discuss the mater with anyone else except perhaps your charter organization representative. If true this man is ineligable to hold membership in the BSA. You cannot control if he chooses to pull his boy from scouting no matter what the reason.

 

Take a look at an adult application and see where the cubmaster signs, he or she doesn't. If don't approve their membership then how can you diasapprove it?

 

Ignore the troop CC this is none of his business. The pack needs to do what is right for the pack.

 

As far as By-laws. Where in the BSA bylaws did you find what a cubmasters authority is. To my knowledge that is not even covered in the by-laws. Pack by-laws are useless if they conflict with the BSA regulations (see committee responsibilities inthe Cub Scout Leader Handbook) and not needed if they simply repeat what is already in the BSA handbooks.

 

Go call you Scout executive!

 

Good Luck,

Bob White(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[P201Cubmaster]

I thank you for your input. We are persuing the scout executive with this information as well. As far as the bylaws go, this was information that was passed on to me and I have not been able to find any information on the subject.

 

I have however been dealing with this problem for quite some time and now the Troop CC is making a VERY big deal over this story. All the leaders sat with this leader and asked him to resign his position because of his current actions and now we have this information on his past which just solidifies our decision.

 

So far he is making a big fuss after this and the council has so many problems currently that we have been told that we will have to wait our turn. I am trying to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

[Bob White]

Sorry but I don't buy that for one minute. As DSteele our resident scouting professional wiil tell you, if you tell a scout executive that a convicted child abuser is a registered leader his world would stand still until he addressed the issue.

 

Confronting the leader with all other leaders was innappropriate. The decision belongs to the Committee chair and the Charter organization Rep or the head of the organization and it requires that you notify the Scout Executive of the action.

 

Do not go by what anyone has said they have done. If you believe he is in violation of the BSA membership policies or in violation of the Youth Protection policies then YOU need to make direct contact with the Scout Executive.

 

Bob White

[Twocubdad]

What has been the role of your pack comittee chair and Chartered organization Rep? As Bob correctly notes, approving and/or dismissing leaders is their responsibility.

[dsteele]

Bob White and Twocubdad are correct that if the den leader is a convicted child abuser, P201Cubmaster should immediately contact the Scout Executive and the Scout Executive should immediately remove him from membership in the Boy Scouts of America.

 

All councils have their troubles and all councils are busy right now, but preventing the abuse of children is a very high priority.

 

However, before we pull the trigger, let me ask this: When did the man register as a Den Leader? If it was after April 1, 2003, he has had a criminal background check and has passed it -- therefore he is not a convicted child abuser. I can see why a council wouldn't rush to pull the membership on the basis of a rumor. If he registered prior to April 1, 2003, he may have slipped through the cracks and the council wouldn't have any knowledge of past convictions especially if the man lied on his adult application for registration.

 

Bob and Twocubdad are correct in that as Cubmaster you do not have the authority to remove a den leader. You do have a responsibility to make your concerns known to the Committee Chairman and/or Chartered Organization representative.

 

You also have what I see as a duty to report the allegations of child abuse to the Scout Executive.

 

I also agree that if the man wants to pull his kid out of Scouting, it is him who is choosing to hurt his son's development, not you. If the troop committee chairman choses to blame you, there's not much you can do about it, but you'll have done the right thing.

 

If you need reinforcement that you're doing the right thing, go to your council's web site and find the link to the Youth Protection Training online.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

DS

[acco40]

Are there hard and fast rules about convicted "anything" leaders? I thought that while highly unprobable, each leadership application was judged on its own merits and that except for age, agreeing to the Oath, etc. that no hard and fast rules existed. For example, if a 58 yr. old outstanding citizen had been convicted of a crime at 18, an automatic "no" would not be issued. While all past history should be looked at by the council, who really screens the applicant? Is it the BSA or the CO?(This message has been edited by acco40)

[dsteele]

Acco wrote (I do this just in case someone else is posting on this thread at the moment and I think his question is important.)

 

"Are there hard and fast rules about convicted "anything" leaders? I thought that while highly unprobable, each leadership application was judged on its own merits and that except for age, agreeing to the Oath, etc. that no hard and fast rules existed. For example, if a 58 yr. old outstanding citizen had been convicted of a crime at 18, an automatic "no" would not be issued. While all past history should be looked at by the council, who really screens the applicant? Is it the BSA or the CO?"

 

There are some hard and fast rules about leaders who have convictions on their record. I don't have those in front of me because the enforcement of those rules falls on the Scout Executive's shoulders alone.

 

In Acco's example of the 58 year old who had a conviction on his record from when he was 18, the answer would depend on the crime. If the 58 year old was convicted of a sex crime involving a youth, the registration would be denied immediately. If the conviction was for driving under the influence/driving while intoxicated, it would be brought to the attention of the chartered organization and would be there decision.

 

Normally adult applications are each considered on their own merit, but there are a few crimes (mostly against children) that will result in not being able to register.

 

As to who really screens the applicant -- that's the responsibility of the people who approve the applicant, namely the Instituional Head or Chartered Organization Representative and the Committee Chair. However, in many cases, the CO doesn't have the resources to conduct criminal background checks, so it may well be that the BSA catches something they didn't know about and weren't able to find.

 

DS